EARTH, WIND & FIRE’S PHILIP BAILEY, 64, IS in his car, driving on an errand through Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., some 40 miles east of Los Angeles. If he flicks on the radio, he could easily tune in to more than one Southern California station playing his band, likely something from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s, when hits like “Shining Star,” “After the Love Is Gone” and “September” dominated. Forty-seven years after Maurice White, 74, formed the multimember group in Chicago with younger brother Verdine White, 64, on bass and Bailey on vocals, EWF’s blend of R&B, rock, pop, jazz and gospel endures, sounding as contemporary as when it was first released.
That’s why the band — already inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters…
